The Chronicles of Zusalem - The Find

They made eye contact and Pablo warned his friends vocally. Tonek raised her weapon and fired at him. Pablo dodged the blast just in time and threw his spear accurately at her. Tonek's blast destroyed the tree behind Pablo. His spear entered her midsection and stuck for a moment until she pulled it out. This gave the search party enough time to close in. They all observed her horror and heard her growling. Gutierrez was among them. He gave the order to fire. All the men raised their guns and fired into Tonek's body. She slumped to the ground for a moment and absorbed the many bullets. Then she stood up again, much to the consternation and dismay of the men, and began firing her weapon. One after another she incinerated them. Men screamed and ran, trying to put out the flames which refused to unburn. The cacophony of the dying was music to Tonek's sensitive ears and urged her on as she laughed with orgasmic delight. Spilling blood was exceeded only by slaying men cruelly, she thought.

Seven had met their untimely death when Egan flew over the ridge in Popay's military helicopter. Popay's gunner saw what was happening and opened fire on Tonek. Egan witnessed the power of her weapon and knew that bullets were not affecting her. Gutierrez' men were either spreadeagled, hiding or running away. Egan ordered Popay to use the flamethrower device and the napalm. Tonek heard the noise from the helicopter and looked up at them. She was about to raise her weapon when the napalm hit her.

She did not make a sound but dropped her weapon. They witnessed her as she knelt to the ground, the napalm eating into her body through her armor. They saw the beacon of fire wash over her as the flamethrower added to the incandescence. Egan ordered the helicopter down on the ridge and everyone converged on the site of Tonek's demise. As her body withered around her she remembered a similar confrontation thousands of years ago when Zeus flung her into a volcano and prevented her from reaching Krom. She crumbled before them and in the darkening sky above there appeared a brief dart of lightning to mark the event with a notch in the clouds.